Don't Cry For Me
by angelicious
Summary: Rei and Shinji... what more can I say?


Don't Cry For Me  
  
*in loving memory of rei ayanami and shinji ikari*  
  
(EVANGELION DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!)  
  
  
Rei shivered as the cold clear water streamed from the   
  
faucet onto her newly burnt fingers. She cautiously   
  
looked up at Shinji, studying his frustrated expression   
  
as carefully as a scientist would look through a   
  
microscope.  
  
"Does it hurt?" Shinji asked thoughtfully. Rei softly   
  
shook her head and lowered her eyes as if she had been   
  
spying on him. Shinji gave her a quick smile and turned   
  
back to the tea.  
  
"I think you put too much in there," Shinji admitted,   
  
after studying the kettle for awhile. Rei apologized and   
  
said, "I've never made tea before."  
  
Rei reached for two teacups while Shinji emptied the   
  
kettle. Acting unlike his usual self, Shinji knocked   
  
over the rest of the cups in his haste to return the   
  
teakettle to Rei. The chipped porcelain teacup nearest   
  
to the edge dropped quickly to the ground, shattering   
  
and an ear-piercing echo followed.  
  
Shinji stumbled over his words to apologize while Rei   
  
calmly bent down to pick up the pieces. There was an   
  
embarrassed silence as Shinji imitated her responsible   
  
move and also squatted down to clean the mess of sharp   
  
pieces.  
  
"I-I'm really sorry," Shinji stuttered as he tried once   
  
again to apologize. "I'll buy you another set of cups if   
  
you'd like."  
  
Rei lifted her head and stared Shinji in the face with   
  
the intense look she was famous for.   
  
"It's alright," she said, gathering a few more porcelain   
  
pieces with her long thin fingers. "You don't have to.   
  
No one ever comes to visit me besides you and..."  
  
Rei bit her lip and turned her head to the side, looking   
  
extremely uncomfortable. Shinji saw that and decided to   
  
change the subject.  
  
"Well... umm... did you know that my mother died 10   
  
years ago?" Shinji speedily added.  
  
"Yes," Rei sympathized, "and I am very sorry."  
  
They both stared over at Rei's untidy living room and   
  
cleaned more broken pieces off the floor as the awkward   
  
silence beat down on them for a long while.  
  
Finally there was only a large piece left on the floor,   
  
and they both reached for it simultaneously,   
  
accidentally brushing their hands together.  
  
Shinji turned a deep crimson red and was about to tell   
  
her how sorry he was when she waved her hand to silence   
  
him.  
  
"You know, sometimes I feel like the pieces of this   
  
broken cup. I am scattered all around. Everywhere. And   
  
each part of me is different. Only when reassembled can   
  
I recognize myself as what I truly am. So the way you   
  
see me may just be a bit of me. When glued back   
  
together, I may not be as flawless," Rei explained.  
  
Shinji glanced at her in awe. He had never heard her   
  
talk so much, make so much sense. He had always thought   
  
of her as the dependable, quiet, anti-social girl whom   
  
his father spoke to often, never as the philosophical   
  
friend she was today.  
  
Rei looked into his eyes and focused onto him, seemingly   
  
taking all of Shinji's soul into herself, merging with   
  
it, and returning it just as it was. She gave the   
  
tiniest smile anyone could ever create and stood up   
  
abruptly.  
  
It was as if they didn't have to communicate in words, a   
  
union of souls was enough for Shinji and Rei to   
  
understand each other completely.  
  
As Shinji quietly stepped out of Rei's home, he looked   
  
back at her lonely face that didn't look at barren as it   
  
was before. Something about this visit, this place, and   
  
her, gave him a feeling of safety and pleasantness that   
  
he hadn't felt since he was a toddler. Love.  
  
That was the memory Shinji recalled as Rei was killed.   
  
She sacrificed herself for him, knowing that he would   
  
avenge her, he would forgive her, and he would forever   
  
love her, as she had secretly loved him all along. Rei   
  
knew this was the only way for their loving and care to   
  
last an eternity.  
  
She didn't need to tell him anything at all, but she   
  
did, as a sort of will, a bittersweet goodbye. Left on   
  
his bed back at Misato's home was a note that read:  
  
  
Dear Shinji,  
  
I am watching you from above. Please do not be sad for   
  
me, as this is my destiny. Fate brought us together and   
  
apart, and we mustn't run away from reality. When hard   
  
times come, I will always be at your side, guiding you.   
  
Never give up, Shinji. Keep living... for me.  
  
Love,  
  
Rei  



End file.
